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Description

When a kingsmoot is held, any captain may put his name forward as a candidate for the rule - as among the ironborn "every captain is a king on his own ship" - and name three champions and may try to sway his fellow ironborn with a speech on his prowess and gifts to show his generosity; only once a vast majority call out a candidate's name to proclaim him king does the kingsmoot end.[2]

History

In antiquity, each of the Iron Islands was ruled by a rock king and a salt king chosen in a kingsmoot by the island's captains. The kings were usually from the same noble house and were often father and son, but sometimes they were from rival houses.[3]

Once a candidate put himself forth, he was bound to the kingsmoot's decision. Only once in the history of the Iron Islands has a kingsmoot been declared unlawful. When King Urragon III Greyiron died, the king's family called a kingsmoot while Torgon Greyiron, the deceased king's eldest son, was off at sea raiding. The kingsmoot raised up Urrathon IV Goodbrother, whose first act was to put all the present kin of the old king to death. Torgon the Latecomer returned two years later and claimed the kingsmoot was unlawful since he, the previous king's son, was not present to put forth his candidacy as was his right. Since Urrathon was bloodthirsty and his cruelty made him many enemies, the priests and ironborn denounced him and raised Torgon to be the new king.[3]

Torgon and his son, King Urragon IV Greyiron, both ruled without being chosen by a kingsmoot. The priests of the Drowned God insisted upon a kingsmoot when Urragon IV died, however. This last kingsmoot turned into a bloodbath. Urron Greyiron gathered his men and killed all the other attendees. Urron Redhand declared himself the King of the Iron Islands and set up the rule of House Greyiron, who wore an iron crown instead of individualized driftwood crowns.[4] His line lasted a thousand years until the arrival of the Andals. There are conflicting accounts of the time of the most recent kingsmoot: while Archmaester Haereg's History of the Ironborn states there has not been a kingsmoot for four thousand years before the War of the Five Kings, according to Maester Denestan's Questions, it has been two thousand years.[5]

Lord Gylbert Farwynd comes first as a candidate, with his three sons (Gyles, Ygon and Yohn) as his champions, promising the ironborn that if he becomes king he will lead them to a new bountiful land across the Sunset Sea, as Nymeria did with her ten thousand ships. His gifts are whale bone, sealskins and bronze.

Erik Ironmaker, called the Anvil-breaker, comes next carried on a palanquin by three of his grandsons; Dagon, Thormor and Urek. His gifts are silver, bronze and a few steel daggers and blades. Asha humiliates him by asking him to stand on his own two feet, which he is unable to do.

Lord Dunstan Drumm comes next. His champions are Andrik the Unsmiling and Drumm's sons Donnel and Denys. Dunstan's speech starts well but he talks too long and soon loses the interest of the crowd. His gifts of bronze do not win them back to him.

Asha Greyjoy comes next with Qarl the Maid, Tristifer Botley and Ser Harras Harlaw as her champions. She does better than anyone expected. Unlike the rest, her gifts are cobblestones, pinecones and turnips. She shows the ironborn these gifts to demonstrate that this is what they have won so far by fighting the North, losing fathers and sons for these "treasures". She offers them a chance for land, peace and victory. She wins much support, but many more support Victarion and it looks like there is about to be a riot between their followers.

Euron Greyjoy has one of his men, Cragorn, blow the dragon horn, which silences the fighting. Euron then steps forward and claims the horn they heard can bind dragons to his will, and that he knows where to locate three of the creatures. He promises to use them so the ironborn can conquer all of Westeros. His men then pour forward his gifts, a wealth of treasure. Euron is elected the new Iron King. However, the election could be declared unlawful should the survival of Theon Greyjoy became known to the ironborn, as he was absent to put forth his candidacy.